A week of meals for a kid who only eats apple slices

Here's a sample week for a child whose main safe food is apple slices. Every day has something familiar on the plate, and a few meals follow the apple slices food chain (same crunch, same shape, same dip, one small change at a time) so a new food never feels like a big leap.

How to use this week

Keep a safe food on the plate at every meal, so there's always something they'll eat.
Serve new foods next to familiar ones, never instead of them. A single bite-sized piece is plenty.
Swap meals around freely. Repeating a meal that worked is a win, not a failure.
For kids under 4, cut food into small, soft pieces and halve round foods like blueberries.

Monday

Breakfast · Toast and Apple Slices

Buttered toast with thin apple slices.

🥬 Stealth: Leave the peel on, sliced very thin.

🍽️ Plating: Fan the apples in a circle.

💬 Exactly the safe food.

Lunch · Cheese and Apple Plate

Cheese cubes, crackers and thin apple slices.

🥬 Stealth: Choose whole-grain crackers.

🍽️ Plating: Arrange in rows.

💬 Crunchy and familiar.

Dinner · Pasta and Apple Slices

Buttered pasta with apple slices on the side.

🥬 Stealth: Cook the pasta in low-sodium broth.

🍽️ Plating: Apples in their own cup.

💬 A safe side for dinner.

Tuesday

Breakfast · Yogurt and Apple Slices

Vanilla yogurt with thin apple slices for dipping.

🥬 Stealth: Choose whole-milk yogurt.

🍽️ Plating: Yogurt in a cup for dipping.

💬 Apples and a mild dip.

Lunch · Grilled Cheese and a New Apple

Grilled cheese with slices of a different apple variety.

🥬 Stealth: Use whole-wheat bread.

🍽️ Plating: Put a few usual apple slices next to the new ones.

💬 Same fruit, slightly different taste and color (step 1).

Dinner · Baked Chicken Tenders

Chicken tenders with thin apple slices.

🥬 Stealth: Add flaxseed to the breading.

🍽️ Plating: Dip in a cup.

💬 Crispy, with a crunchy side.

Wednesday

Breakfast · Mini Pancakes

Small pancakes with soft cooked apple pieces.

🥬 Stealth: Cook the apples with cinnamon until soft.

🍽️ Plating: Apples on the side.

💬 Apple flavor, soft texture.

Lunch · Pear Slices Plate

Thin pear slices next to their usual apple slices.

🥬 Stealth: Choose a ripe, soft pear.

🍽️ Plating: Alternate apple and pear in a fan.

💬 Similar shape and juiciness, softer (step 2).

Dinner · Mild Pork and Applesauce

Thin baked pork strips with applesauce for dipping.

🥬 Stealth: Bake the pork until tender.

🍽️ Plating: Applesauce in a cup.

💬 Apple flavor makes it familiar.

Thursday

Breakfast · Oatmeal with Apple

Oats cooked with grated apple and cinnamon.

🥬 Stealth: Cook the oats in milk.

🍽️ Plating: Serve warm in their favorite bowl.

💬 Apple in a cozy breakfast.

Lunch · Apple Cheddar Quesadilla

Quesadilla with cheddar and very thin apple slices.

🥬 Stealth: Use thin slices so they soften when warm.

🍽️ Plating: Cut into triangles.

💬 Sweet and cheesy.

Dinner · Cucumber and Apple Plate

Fish sticks with apple slices and cucumber sticks.

🥬 Stealth: Peel the cucumber and cut thin sticks.

🍽️ Plating: Cucumber next to the apples.

💬 Two crunchy sides.

Friday

Breakfast · Apple Muffins

Soft muffins with grated apple.

🥬 Stealth: Swap half the flour for oat flour.

🍽️ Plating: Serve one cut in half.

💬 Apple in a soft muffin.

Lunch · Jicama Sticks

Thin jicama sticks next to apple slices.

🥬 Stealth: Cut jicama into thin, matchstick pieces.

🍽️ Plating: Mix three jicama sticks into the apples.

💬 A crunchy, mildly sweet new food (step 3).

Dinner · Pizza Night

Homemade cheese pizza with apple slices.

🥬 Stealth: Blend cooked carrot into the sauce.

🍽️ Plating: Apples on the side.

💬 A familiar favorite.

Saturday

Breakfast · Waffles with Apple

Waffles with soft cooked apple slices.

🥬 Stealth: Cook apples until tender.

🍽️ Plating: Apples on the side.

💬 Warm apple flavor.

Lunch · Snack Plate Lunch

Crackers, cheese and cucumber sticks.

🥬 Stealth: Peel the cucumber and cut into thin sticks.

🍽️ Plating: Lay out in a pattern.

💬 Crunchy foods together.

Dinner · Mac and Cheese

Stovetop mac with apple slices.

🥬 Stealth: Stir in butternut squash puree.

🍽️ Plating: Apples on the side.

💬 Familiar comfort.

Sunday

Breakfast · Apple Yogurt Parfait

Yogurt layered with soft cooked apple.

🥬 Stealth: Add a pinch of cinnamon.

🍽️ Plating: Let them layer it.

💬 Sweet and smooth.

Lunch · Cucumber Sticks

Thin cucumber sticks with a yogurt dip next to apple slices.

🥬 Stealth: Peel the cucumber for a softer bite.

🍽️ Plating: Dip in the middle.

💬 The last step: a crunchy vegetable (step 4).

Dinner · Chicken and Rice

Plain chicken and rice with thin apple slices.

🥬 Stealth: Cook the rice in broth.

🍽️ Plating: Each food separate.

💬 Simple and familiar.

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Next step: the apple slices food chain, a step-by-step path from apple slices to new foods.

🥦 A week for a apple slices lover

Made with PickyPlanIt · pickyplanit.com

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Monday	Toast and Apple Slices 🍽️ Fan the apples in a circle.	Cheese and Apple Plate 🍽️ Arrange in rows.	Pasta and Apple Slices 🍽️ Apples in their own cup.
Tuesday	Yogurt and Apple Slices 🍽️ Yogurt in a cup for dipping.	Grilled Cheese and a New Apple 🍽️ Put a few usual apple slices next to the new ones.	Baked Chicken Tenders 🍽️ Dip in a cup.
Wednesday	Mini Pancakes 🍽️ Apples on the side.	Pear Slices Plate 🍽️ Alternate apple and pear in a fan.	Mild Pork and Applesauce 🍽️ Applesauce in a cup.
Thursday	Oatmeal with Apple 🍽️ Serve warm in their favorite bowl.	Apple Cheddar Quesadilla 🍽️ Cut into triangles.	Cucumber and Apple Plate 🍽️ Cucumber next to the apples.
Friday	Apple Muffins 🍽️ Serve one cut in half.	Jicama Sticks 🍽️ Mix three jicama sticks into the apples.	Pizza Night 🍽️ Apples on the side.
Saturday	Waffles with Apple 🍽️ Apples on the side.	Snack Plate Lunch 🍽️ Lay out in a pattern.	Mac and Cheese 🍽️ Apples on the side.
Sunday	Apple Yogurt Parfait 🍽️ Let them layer it.	Cucumber Sticks 🍽️ Dip in the middle.	Chicken and Rice 🍽️ Each food separate.

Tip: serve one new food next to a safe food, never instead of it. Every try counts!

PickyPlanIt offers general information for everyday picky eating, not medical advice. If your child has a very limited diet, gags or vomits when eating, or isn't growing as expected, talk to your pediatrician about a feeding evaluation.